IM2: Epilogue
by moonborne
Summary: Scenes post-IM2, starting with immediately after Rhodey leaves the roof, on to Pepper's reaction to the condition of the Malibu house, and then on to Washington DC. My first fanfic post ever!
1. Chapter 1

I've been reading Pepperony fanfic for a year and finally get the courage to post my first fic after seeing IM3. This story has been sitting on my computer for almost a year! Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters

* * *

"I refuse to accept your resignation," Tony said to Pepper as Rhodey flew off in what he's now decided to call a "charitable donation" to the US Military. Little does Rhodey know that the Mark II suit doesn't accommodate bathroom breaks.

"You think our kissing for the first time will make me forget what I just listed to you as reasons for resigning?" Pepper asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You said that you don't know if I'm going to wreck the company or blow myself up! Let's face it - I'm Iron Man and there's a very slight chance I might blow myself up in the course of protecting the free world. But if you stay as CEO, then I won't wreck the company. Well, there's a much smaller chance that I will, since you're in charge." This explanation, delivered while his suit was sparking at random from the damage incurred by Vanko's creations, does not inspire confidence.

"That doesn't make me feel better about withdrawing my resignation," Pepper said.

"I need you," Tony said, gently laying a gauntlet-clad hand on her waist. "If you take care of Stark Industries, then I can focus on staying safe as Iron Man, and working on R & D for the company."

Pepper reached up and framed his face with her, as Tony once called them "petite", hands and looked into his brown eyes to see if he was being truly serious. He didn't start laughing, or make a quip, so she said, "Okay. I'll stay on as CEO, but you're going to be president of the company, and you'll show up for board meetings."

Tony's smug smile popped up and he said, "Fair enough, Potts. I knew you'd see it my way." Just then, Pepper's cell phone rang, announcing the arrival of the SHIELD team for cleanup of Vanko's suits and debriefing of Tony.

"Duty calls again," he said. "I don't know how long I'll be..."

"I'll have Happy take me to the penthouse," Pepper said, referring to Tony's New York residence. "I'm sure there's about eight million phone calls and emails I have to answer about tonight. I'll get started on them and get in touch with PR while waiting for you."

"Will you give me a hero's welcome?" he asked, eyes bright.

"We'll see," Pepper said, brushing a quick kiss on his lips. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Hey, I just saved your life from a vengeful Russian's self-destructing robots! That is definitely 'not all,' Miss Potts!" he sputtered.

To answer, Pepper turned on her heel and walked toward the stairwell entrance. "Go get 'em, boss."

Tony chuckled to himself. Pepper Potts wasn't making it easy for him, but strangely, he liked it. Then he sighed and picked up his helmet to head down to meet Natalie/Natasha/Agent Whatever.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm learning the publishing system here slowly. It took a strangely long time for me to figure out how to add a new chapter! Thanks for reading :)

* * *

Several hours later...

"I just got debriefed! Why do I have to meet Fury tomorrow?" Tony, now out of the Iron Man suit, argued to Natasha.

"Director Fury wants to speak with you," she said, offering no more information. "I'll have Jarvis put it in your calendar."

"You're still fired," Tony said, as he exited the car. As soon as he was away from SHIELD, and entering the building, the weariness finally hit him. The modest-sized, sleek building was owned by Stark Industries and used to house executives visiting New York for long-term projects. Tony reserved the penthouse for his personal use. It was 2:30 in the morning, and he doubted Pepper would still be up.

"Jarvis, is Pepper still up?" Tony asked the AI when he entered his private elevator.

"Indeed, Miss Potts is still awake, sir," came the smooth, British-accented reply. Tony's spirits lifted and when the elevator doors opened, he heard bare feet rushing over to him and smiled at the sight of Pepper, hair in a ponytail, and wearing a t-shirt and yoga pants.

"Oof," he said as Pepper threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "What's that for?"

He ignored the bruises and wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes. She smelled of citrus, flowers, and sugar. Pepper always smelled good and now that they've stepped over that work-relationship-becomes-kinda-romantic line, it's no longer creepy that he notices this.

"I couldn't really hug you when you were in the suit," Pepper explained. Then she punched him in the arm.

"OW! What was THAT for?" Tony yelled.

"You! Not telling me you were dying!" she said, turning around and heading for the living room.

"I will formally apologize for that now," Tony said, walking slowly after her.

"What's wrong with you?" Pepper said, noticing the way he was walking.

"Oh, I rediscovered a new element, plugged it into my chest, then flew across the country in record time, battled my best friend and a fleet of robots and their insane maker, and then was scared out of my mind when I thought you might get blown up," Tony said.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Pepper asked, looking over him, still wearing his black flight suit.

"Nah, just some bruises, probably," Tony said.

"Go shower, and I'll patch up anything that needs patching," Pepper said, used to the routine of caring for Tony after he returned from a mission. "If you're hungry, Happy and I stopped to pick up pizza from Ray's."

Tony turned for his bedroom and stopped. "No, I have to get this done first." Pepper gave him an exasperated look. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you I was dying. I tried, but couldn't get the words to come out, and you didn't exactly make it easy for me."

"Me? You've been making my job nearly impossible for the last ten years!" she fired back.

"Let me finish," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You matter to me, and I couldn't stand the idea of making you upset or worry more about me. All I could do was give you what mattered to me: the company, my family's legacy. And I came to your office the other day to tell you that I finally realized that I need you Pepper. You're the only one for me."

"Tony," Pepper said softly, stepping closer to him to reach up and lace her fingers behind his neck.

"You've taken care of me all these years, and I told you on that rooftop hours ago that you deserve better than me. I'm going to be selfish though, and ask that you settle for me, and I will try to be better for you," he said.

"Tony, I can't leave you, no matter how much you drive me crazy," Pepper said, resting her face against his RT. "Remember? You're all I have."

He lifted her face up from his chest and kissed her with all the feelings he had for her over the years and was still stunned to find how right it felt to be holding Pepper Potts. Several moments later, a prettily flushed Pepper pulled away to push Tony to take that shower, rebuffing his smarmy advances to have her join him.

Her heart flipped and she smiled as he went into the bedroom and said, "You complete me, even though you won't shower with the guy who saved your life."

"Maybe if you hadn't given away our modern art collection, I would have," she responded.

She didn't shower with him. She did patch up his wounds and kissed them when he asked (although he was asking it with a smirk). And she did let him hold her while they went to sleep, the room never completely dark due to the blue glow from his RT.


	3. Chapter 3

While writing this part, I wondered about the other gifts Tony has "given" Pepper during the span of their working relationship, so this is going to be broken up in two sections before we get to Washington D.C.

* * *

On the flight back from New York, after Tony's secret meeting with Director Fury, they sat together, Tony's arm around her, and talked about everything. Pepper finally understood Tony's bizarre behavior from the past couple weeks, still feeling twinges of panic when reminded of how he'd almost died of palladium poisoning. Tony talked about his father a lot, and how much his ghost affected Tony's actions. He now felt like he'd come to terms with his father's expectations, and could move forward. Pepper made the leap for him, proposing a prototype building running on his new arc reactor technology.

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be telling me about this Avengers Initiative," Pepper said.

"I'm selfish and narcissistic enough to do what I want. Besides, I want you to know what your superhero boyfriend is involved with." Obviously, Tony was still miffed about Agent Romanoff's assessment.

"You're not a superhero," she said. "And remember, we agreed to keep our relationship quiet for now."

"Rhodey and Happy will keep it to themselves," Tony assured her. "And Natalie Whatsherface is a spy so she can keep a secret. Just be careful about the next assistant you hire. I don't want another triple imposter. And I am a superhero. You just don't want to admit that it turns you on, Potts."

"Natalie was your fault," Pepper pointed out, ignoring Tony's remark. She had already arranged for candidates to interview when she returned to the office. None of them had modeled in Tokyo or claimed to speak Latin.

_Back in Malibu..._

Pepper was speechless as she got her first glimpse of Tony's workshop when they returned to his house in Malibu. Granted, the living room, terrace, and gym had been gutted by one of Tony's most destructive birthday parties ever, but Pepper _knew _that those holes in the ceiling/floor and roof had not been there when she left that night.

"I told you that I rediscovered a new element," he explained.

"Did you cut through that fire cabinet with a laser?!" she asked, following the burn marks along the wall. You was attempting to scrub the marks away, with little success. The robot would be better off painting the wall. Dummy seemed to be moving rubble from one pile to a neighboring pile of rubble.

"Not exactly. It was a highly accelerated beam of light..." Tony began, explaining in a very general way how he accomplished his dazzlingly intelligent method for recreating the element his father left for him.

"Anthony Edward Stark," Pepper said, "You are a genius and able to create a new element that saves your own life, and possibly solves the world's energy problems, but you can't figure out that you have to move stuff out of the way before you get started?"

"That's what I have you for! To work out the logistics for my genius," he said. "Speaking of my genius, when is that thing in Washington to honor my genius?"

"Thursday afternoon. We fly to D.C. early that morning," she said. "And there's a party that night after the award ceremony. "

"Wear that birthday present I got for you last year," Tony said, thinking of the dance and almost-kiss they shared at the Firefighters' Benefit before he took the Iron Man suit on its first mission. "Just curious, have I purchased any other tasteful-yet-sexy birthday presents for you? Tasteful lingerie, maybe?"

"No, I did not use my playboy boss's money to buy myself birthday lingerie," Pepper said, rolling her eyes. She turned away to check her Blackberry, hoping Tony would drop the subject.


	4. Chapter 4

"If you won't tell me, I'll just ask Jarvis," Tony said.

"How would Jarvis know?" Pepper asked.

"You're an honest cookie, and probably the most honest CEO ever, so I'm betting you properly accounted for everything. Not that you needed to, of course. You could've bought yourself a car for your birthday instead of that dress and I wouldn't have cared."

"You did purchase a car for Miss Potts the first Christmas she was your personal assistant," Jarvis supplied. "She refused to accept it because it was far too extravagant and impractical for her use. Then she forbade you from buying her any gifts and you told her to choose them herself."

"Oh yeah," Tony said, remembering that flashy little sports car. He'd kept it for himself. "Jarvis, what other birthday presents have I given to Miss Potts?"

"Miss Potts has a fondness for Christian Louboutin shoes as her birthday presents and donations to several charities for Christmas," Jarvis announced, as Pepper's face flushed. Those shoes were a guilty pleasure, so she balanced it out with the Christmas donations. She loved the way they accentuated her legs - legs that she knew Tony stared at when he thought she was paying attention to something else. The blue dress had been a deviation from the usual birthday choice, an impulse purchase that apparently paid off.

Tony's eyes narrowed and shot straight to her expensively-clad feet. "You've been wearing those things to torture me all these years, and I've been supplying you with those tasteful-yet-sexy accessories. Well played, Potts. Just so you know, I know you have a thing for my ass. I won't even be offended if your hands wander when we're at that party."

"Tony, I told you that I'm not ready to make us public," Pepper said, nudging a pile of books with the toe of one stiletto pump, feeling a little sheepish that he _had _noticed the times she checked him out.

"I promise to be on my best behavior, and while in public to touch you only as a respectful co-worker touches another co-worker in a social setting," he said, as he turned to one of his robots. "Dummy! What have you been doing while I've been gone? I told you to clean up this mess." Dummy lowered his robotic arm with a dejected sound and whirred over to another pile of mess that resulted from Tony's genius.

Pepper decided to wear the blue dress; it wasn't just for him. She did like the way his hand felt at the small of her back at the benefit, and this time, she wouldn't forget the deodorant.

As she turned to leave (those candidates weren't going to interview themselves), she paused to watch the man with his two robots, arguing with Jarvis about the best method to restore house and workshop to rights. She knew that most people would say she was a fool to romantically involve herself with Tony Stark, but she knew him better than anyone. He'd changed since Afghanistan, but not in the way Obadiah Stane was prattling on about months before. Tony had been broken by the experience, but repaired himself, and built himself up to the man she loves and admires now. She knows he isn't perfect, but he's perfect to her. And he wouldn't quite be Tony without his eccentricities and his man-child episodes.

"What's up, platypus?" Tony asked, snapping her out of her reverie. "Decided to play hooky? I'm fairly certain my bedroom's undamaged. Oooh, you can make me your assistant. Will that be all, Miss Potts? I'm a natural!"

"I'm going to call the contractor and get a crew out here before birds start decorating your hall of armor," she said. "It's a good thing you're rich." She walked over to give him a lingering kiss goodbye, and a perfunctory pat on his behind. "That will be all, Mr. Stark."

(If she told him what she was really thinking, he'd tell her that she was perfect, and still too good for him, but he's okay with being selfish if he gets to have her to himself. Agent Whatsherface said he didn't play well with others anyway.)

* * *

Huh, that took an unexpected introspective and serious turn at the end.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the following days, Pepper was surprised at how easily their romance worked its way into their usual routine. The difference now was they were free to act on the tension and impulses they'd been avoiding in all the years she worked for him. Pepper had been attracted to Tony soon after she became his assistant, but that invisible line was easy to hold firm when Tony called her in the wee hours of the morning to get rid of another of his "companions" or did something idiotic.

They were going straight from the airport to the award presentation on the White House lawn, so Pepper helped Tony into his jacket before exiting the jet. They were both reminded of those moments before Tony's coming-out-of-the-iron-closet press conference.

Before everything had changed a week ago, when she straightened the lapels of his jacket, or adjusted his tie, she'd look up at him and he'd look into her eyes for a moment, and they'd separate. But now, he brushed a kiss on her lips to thank her before one of the flight attendants saw.

"Déjà vu," Tony remarked, "but this time, you're not rejecting me. A vast improvement."

"I didn't reject you," she said, stepping out of the jet. "Your oblique speech about having a girlfriend who worries about you dying all the time wasn't exactly tempting. Besides, I've been spending ten years worrying about you dying from one of your usual Tony antics. And you don't need to get me started on your parade of conquests."

"You have to concede that I've been better since I came back," Tony said, leading her over to the waiting car and waving Happy off. He opened the door for Pepper instead; he could do these little things while they're in public. Even she couldn't argue about that.

"I'll give you that," Pepper said. He was right; there hadn't been any late-night calls telling her to engage in what she called the taking-out-the-trash protocol. The only woman he'd been spending any time with... was Pepper.

_After the presentation..._

"How did Fury get Senator Stern to present the awards to you and Rhodey?" Pepper asked him when they were back in the car, with Happy driving them back to the hotel. Tony still sneered at the fact that Pepper insisted on having her own room in the suite, something about keeping up appearances.

She still wouldn't _sleep_ with him yet, but he isn't bothered by it. He understands that Pepper Potts is not a one-night-stand kind of woman. She's a woman you make plans with, a woman he's already making plans with. Tony knows she's not easy, and she'll never make things easy for him, and that's one of the many reasons for why he needs her, always. Regardless of all that, he still liked convincing her to change her mind. He liked to think that her resolve was starting to crumble.

"Fury works in mysterious ways?" Tony suggested. "I'm sure he got a good deal, as my consulting fees don't come cheap. I think I got the short end of the stick though. Stern stabbed me!"

"I was wondering what was going on during the ceremony," she said, pulling his jacket open to look at his shirt.

"Pulling my clothes off in the back of a limo, Potts?" Tony asked, giving her his lopsided smirk.

"Didn't want to hear that, Boss," Happy said from behind the wheel.

Pepper swatted Tony's arm. "I'm checking to see if you're bleeding, you ass."

Tony caught her hand in his and kissed her palm. "It'll take more than a sulking senator giving me his little prick to hurt me...that came out really wrong." Pepper rolled her eyes at him.

_Later..._

Tony stepped into Pepper's bathroom in their suite at the Ritz-Carlton and was amazed that a woman who was as naturally beautiful as Pepper came with so much... stuff. So many little bottles and jars of girly products. How was all that stuff going to work its way into his bathroom back at his place? Huh. Haven't even really been official with Pepper for a week, and already thinking about their living together. Tony pondered this, and found that the idea of living with a woman, if it was Pepper, wasn't alarming at all.

Pepper looked at him via the mirror, pausing her mascara application, "Did you need something, Tony?" He held up his tie. "I know you know how to tie that."

"You tying my ties has been one of my favorite things you do," Tony said, as she came over to take the tie from him, his hands automatically going to her waist. "As I normally resent what I have to wear a tie for, you make it a little less horrendous." He looked at her while she began knotting his necktie, sliding his gaze from her eyes to her lips, and to the neckline of the hotel robe she was wearing. He couldn't help tracing a finger from her neck to her collarbone, enjoying her sharp intake of breath.

"Tony," Pepper warned softly. She straightened the finished Windsor and looked up at him. He didn't resist the urge to kiss her and certainly didn't mind when she responded ardently, pressing against him and weaving her fingers into his hair.

Needless to say, they were late to the party. And she made him tie his own necktie this time.

* * *

**I wanted this to be the last chapter, as an epilogue for an epilogue is kind of over the top, but I have an idea. But then again, I've got all these other ideas for post-Avengers / pre-IM3 that I want to write. What do you think?**


	6. Chapter 6

**So this chapter is kind of the epilogue to the epilogue. I wanted to clear up any confusion about the did-they or didn't-they at the end of the last chapter, and give Tony a chance to improve his birthday gift-giving technique.**

**I really enjoy writing about Pepper and Tony and how much of their relationship isn't overt.**

* * *

When Pepper and Tony finally arrived at the party, he had a hard time keeping his smug grin in check. She blushed a lot when they first walked in, but when he called her "Virginia Sexpot Potts," she snapped into her death glare mode. He laughed and behaved for the rest of the evening, whispering that she's "outrageously gorgeous" when she's mad.

To be honest, she realized that she and Tony had always stood close together whenever he had to show up at an event with her in tow as his assistant. Perhaps it was a subconscious thing on both their parts.

Now that they're unofficially official, Pepper knows that they don't have to be constantly touching to show their connection to each other. It was all in a glance, or his hand on her back, guiding her from group to group of partygoers. Tony finds small ways like these to show her he's thinking of her, and her heart does a flip when his hand settles at the small of her back, his thumb stroking her skin for a moment. It's funny how nobody notices any change, but all those years of always standing close to each other must've numbed others from seeing any difference.

They were supposed to head back to California in the morning, but Tony had other plans. It's times like these he's thankful for being filthy rich and still having Elon Musk's sub-orbital jet on loan.

"Why are we over the Atlantic Ocean, Tony?" Pepper asked after the Stark jet had reached cruising altitude. Their flight attendant came over to set their breakfast down on the small table between them.

"Omelettes!" Tony announced. "These look much better than the one I tried to make."

"Tony," she said, in that warning voice.

"Careful," he warned, in between bites of his omelette. "The last time you said my name like that, we wound up naked, and you want to keep us a secret." Pepper just looked at him. She loves him, but sometimes, she wants to smack the goatee off his face. "Fine, we're going to Venice for your birthday. Surprise?" He's not sure if this is backfiring yet.

"You remembered my birthday," she said.

"Funny, it's the same time every year," he said, tossing her words back to her. "And before you start going on about how you're CEO and have to show up, we're staying for just the weekend. I won't even take your Blackberry away from you."

So that's how Pepper Potts wound up at the Hotel Cipriani in Venice with Tony Stark, enjoying a glass of champagne on their suite's balcony.

"How do you like your present?" Tony asked, removing his cufflinks to push his sleeves up.

"It's wonderful," she said, leaning against him. "I'm happy to sacrifice a pair of shoes for this."

"This getaway isn't everything you're getting for your birthday," he said, running a hand over her hair. People had always thought he had a thing for blondes, but he's always had a thing for redheads... actually, just one redhead in particular.

"Tony, if you're going to say that I also get to have you in bed as a present..." she started. Pepper didn't get to finish her sentence because he'd taken a small box out of his pocket. It seemed like her heart was pounding in her ears. She surprised herself with the realization that she didn't want it to be an engagement ring. _It's too soon, _she thought. Everything was still new and she wasn't going to kid herself that they didn't have issues to work out.

"I'm hurt that you find me so self-serving, but yes, that is another part of your present," he began, opening the box to reveal a pair of diamond earrings, a large round solitaire in each plain platinum setting. "These were my mother's. She had them as long as I can remember; they were from my father. I want you to have them."

She touched them with the tip of a finger and bit back the polite response of _Oh no, I couldn't, _because she did want them. Tony could easily buy a woman any expensive bauble, but he chose to give her something that had meaning, with more value than could be printed on a price tag. "They're beautiful, thank you," she said. "Very tasteful."

"Yes, Dad did have good taste," Tony said, watching as Pepper took her earrings off to put the birthday ones on. They were classy, and they looked good on her. "You thought it was an engagement ring."

"For someone who's supposedly narcissistic, selfish, and self-serving, you're remarkably perceptive," Pepper said. "Yes, the thought did cross my mind that it could be an engagement ring."

"I did think about it," Tony said, "but I didn't want to rush. I know it seems like I do everything impulsively, and I don't want this to be one of those things. I think I am better with you, and I still have more to do to deserve you. You are the only one I want telling me that I should move stuff out of the way from a highly accelerated beam of light even though ends totally justified the means. I don't have anyone but you, and I don't want anyone but you."

"This is enough for now Tony," Pepper said, kissing him. "We'll get there someday soon, but let's just enjoy the moment. Best birthday gift ever."

* * *

**That was officially the last chapter. Going to get started on another one, probably post-Avengers / pre-IM3. And a post IM3 after that.**

**Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review my fic. I was really nervous about my first post and your encouragement really helped me along! **

**To those who are sad that I ended it, don't worry. Next one will pretty much continue their story. I just couldn't keep adding chapters and call this an IM2 epilogue. **

**5/12/13 - Updated to say I posted the sequel to this as "Prelude to Avengers." I want to continue their story, because there's a lot they haven't talked about, and I wanted to write something about the elevator full of sweaty workmen that Tony's so offended by in Avengers. **


End file.
